Harmon likes depth of Patriots' defense

Friday

May 17, 2019 at 4:50 PM

FOXBORO – “D” is for defense.

“D” is for depth.

“D” is also for Duron, as in Patriots safety Duron Harmon, who sees great depth in the team’s defense.

“I would say the depth,” Harmon answered when asked what excites him most about the Patriots’ defensive unit heading toward the 2019 season. “There’s depth everywhere. Secondary, linebacker, the front, d-line, it’s literally a lot of good players everywhere, and Bill (head coach Bill Belichick) always says the more good players you have on your team the better the team will be. So looking forward to how we can put it all together. It’s going to be obviously a lot of competition who’s going to be out there, but it’s all going to make us better in the end.

Harmon then went on to cite the variety of looks the Patriots defense was able to present in 2018 when it finished off the season by turning in one of the greatest defensive performances in the history of the Super Bowl, limiting the Los Angeles Rams to a field goal in backboning the team to a 13-3 win in Super Bowl LIII.

“We had J-Jones (cornerback Jonathan Jones) playing a little safety, J-Mac (cornerback Jason McCourty) playing some safety, we had J.C. (cornerback J.C. Jackson) covering the tight end a little bit, (safety Patrick) Chung playing a little bit of linebacker, moving Dev (safety Devin McCourty) around a little bit, too,” Harmon said, retracing the steps the defense took to the title. “It’s key. Because the way we play defense, everything’s kind of matchup based. So whoever we feel has the best matchups is going to be out there playing and when you can do that, when you can have the depth like we had obviously last year and then hopefully this year, it will make our defense a lot more multiple and it’ll give offenses more problems.”

There are those who wonder if, given the fact that for the third straight season they’ll have their third different signal caller, the Patriots defense might experience problems in the upcoming season. Just as defensive coordinator Matt Patricia left after the 2017 season to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions, linebackers coach-de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores exited following the 2018 campaign to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and most recently Ohio State assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano was reportedly hired to fill that role earlier this offseason but unexpectedly left before he was even introduced as a member of the Patriots' coaching staff.

Saying he likes the chances of a defense that ultimately rests in the hands of the team's head coach, Bill Belichick, Harmon dismisses any such notion.

“Coach Belichick, he’s Coach Belichick,” said Harmon, who’s participating in the Patriots’ voluntary offseason program at Gillette Stadium. “If he’s calling plays, I think it’s going to be all right. I don’t know who’s calling the plays. Obviously, we’re about to get to OTAs (organized team activities begin Monday), but at the end of the day Coach Belichick is going to have a great plan, he’s going to make sure we’re ready to go and if it’s him or somebody else I think we’re going to be all right.”

Personally, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Harmon was better than that last year, the third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft intercepting four passes for the second straight season, coming up with five turnovers in all (he recovered one fumble) and registering 37 tackles in his role as the Patriots’ third safety behind Devin McCourty and Chung.

Now, his seventh season with the team draws nearer.

“We start playing football next week,” said Harmon, looking forward to the start of OTAs. “It’s not the whole game of football, obviously. We don’t have pads. We just have helmets. But getting back out there, competing against each other, working toward being better each and every day for the 2019 season is great and we’re looking forward to it.”

Extension reported for King: The NFL Media's Ian Rapaport reported Friday that the Patriots are signing core special teamer Brandon King to a two-year contract extension.

King broke into the league with the Patriots as a rookie free agent from Auburn in 2015.

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